Centene (NYSE:CNC) Stock Price Up 4.8% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Centene Corporation's shares rose 4.8% to $28.21 amid trading, yet the volume was down 57% compared to its average daily trading volume.
• Multiple analysts have downgraded Centene's stock ratings and price targets recently, with the consensus rating currently at "Hold" and an average target price of $42.20.
• Despite reporting a significant year-over-year revenue increase of 22.4%, Centene missed EPS estimates, posting a loss of $0.16 compared to the expected profit of $0.23.

Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) shares rose 4.8% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $28.28 and last traded at $28.21. Approximately 3,627,527 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 57% from the average daily volume of 8,458,507 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.93.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CNC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Centene from $71.00 to $40.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 11th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Centene from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Centene from $45.00 to $31.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 28th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $33.00 price objective (down from $73.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Centene from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $42.20.

Centene Stock Up 1.1%

The stock has a market capitalization of $14.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.40. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $36.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $51.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The company reported ($0.16) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.23 by ($0.39). The company had revenue of $48.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.71 billion. Centene had a return on equity of 9.57% and a net margin of 1.15%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 22.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.42 earnings per share. Centene has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.750-1.750 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Centene Corporation will post 6.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Theodore R. Samuels II purchased 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $27.62 per share, for a total transaction of $248,580.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 32,000 shares in the company, valued at $883,840. This represents a 39.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Sarah London purchased 19,230 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The stock was bought at an average price of $25.50 per share, with a total value of $490,365.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 845,275 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,554,512.50. The trade was a 2.33% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.36% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Centene

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Centene during the second quarter worth $281,000. Advisory Services Network LLC lifted its position in shares of Centene by 352.6% during the second quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 16,747 shares of the company's stock worth $909,000 after purchasing an additional 13,047 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming lifted its position in shares of Centene by 369.6% during the second quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 15,544 shares of the company's stock worth $844,000 after purchasing an additional 12,234 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Centene by 29.8% during the second quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,897 shares of the company's stock worth $103,000 after purchasing an additional 435 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caxton Associates LLP lifted its position in shares of Centene by 21.4% during the second quarter. Caxton Associates LLP now owns 7,291 shares of the company's stock worth $396,000 after purchasing an additional 1,283 shares during the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Centene Company Profile

Centene Corporation operates as a healthcare enterprise that provides programs and services to under-insured and uninsured families, commercial organizations, and military families in the United States. The company operates through Medicaid, Medicare, Commercial, and Other segments. The Medicaid segment offers health plan coverage, including medicaid expansion, aged, blind, disabled, children's health insurance program, foster care, medicare-medicaid plans, long-term services and support.